The prominent coffee retailer Costa Coffee is currently aiming to create a new “zero energy” coffee bean roastery in Basildon, England, in order to keep up with the growing market.
The plan, apparently, is for the new roastery — which is set to be created from a repurposed ex-automotive manufacturing plant — to be built to specs that will allow it to obtain the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology’s (BREEAM) “Outstanding” accreditation.
This news follows Costa Coffee having recently opened up its very first “zero energy” retail location — the Eco Pod cafe in Telford, which features a solar photovoltaic (PV) system and passive ventilation — demonstrating, in a slightly different venue than the plans for the new roastery, the company’s commitment to “sustainability.”
Amongst the plans for the revamping of the old auto factory, the company will reportedly be installing: a 250-kilowatt (kW) rooftop solar energy PV system, LED lighting, good insulation, solar thermal hot water systems, and a rainwater harvesting system — the intention of these, along with self sufficiency, is to become “zero energy.”
The company will reportedly also begin using a “Green Travel Plan,” intended to improve transportation options for staff.
The company’s Master of Coffee, Gennaro Pelliccia, commented: “We are investing an estimated £36 million into a state-of-the-art new roaster to increase our capacity for future customer demand and to maintain the important traditions that have built Costa to be the success it is today.”
The current aim, according to those with the company, is for the new roastery to open sometime in early 2017.
Image Credit: Costa Coffee
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